


Fear is the Heart of Love

by ThoughtfulConstellations



Category: Daredevil (Comics), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Moving, Romance, San Francisco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-16 00:43:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3468038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoughtfulConstellations/pseuds/ThoughtfulConstellations
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now that Matt Murdock has been disbarred in New York, Matt and Kirsten McDuffie pick up their things and move all the way across the country to San Francisco, a place where Matt has practiced law before.  As they adjust to their new surroundings, Foggy's brand new hidden identity, and new enemies, they must also adjust to this new relationship they have between them and what it means to be together in spite of all the things Daredevil brings.</p><p>(Takes place between Volumes 3 and 4)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, this is my first Daredevil multi-chap fic so here we go!
> 
> I've always wondered how Matt and Kirsten adjusted to San Francisco, how they find their apartments, how Kirsten even decided to make the move to San Francisco, etc., so since I don't know the canon answers, I have creative license, and I'm applying it here! This fic is my take on what I think happens in between Volumes 3 and 4, starting with the end of Volume 3, Issue #35 and ending with the opening of Volume 4, Issue #1.
> 
> I'll be doing weekly updates, and I'll most likely always update on a Monday, though if I fall behind, it will be a day later in the week. But Mondays will usually be update day!
> 
> I always do a song rec that I feel is fitting for the chapter as a whole, so for this chapter my rec is: "Help, I'm Alive" - Metric.
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy! =)

Chapter 1

“I have a plan.”

Normally, Kirsten McDuffie took great comfort in hearing that her law partners had a plan for entering the courtroom.  However, hearing Matt Murdock announce that he had a plan on the very same day they were supposed to go into court with an _already established_ plan wasn’t comforting at all.  She paused in the doorway of his office and watched him pace around his desk, his brow furrowed as he wandered about half-lost in thought and half-caught up in the anticipation of telling her his new plan. Taking a breath to steady herself, Kirsten frowned and folded her arms over her chest.

“That doesn’t fill me with confidence, Matt,” she replied. “You do realize that we’re supposed to walk into that courtroom in a little over an hour, right?”

“Yes. I do know that. That’s why I called you. Foggy already gave me the ok, so all that’s left is for me to fill you in on what’s happening, and then we can do some brief rehearsals,” Matt said as he continued to pace. Kirsten watched him walk back and forth, watching how he moved, and she wondered how she’d ever somewhat doubted that he was Daredevil.  She’d seen the videos and the pictures of Daredevil—God, she’d seen them for years. Even back when she’d still gone home for the holidays, she’d heard about Daredevil and watched the footage of him kicking ass and taking names.

When the press leaked that Matt Murdock, blind lawyer of Hell’s Kitchen, New York, was Daredevil, Kirsten had admittedly had some trouble believing it. Matt Murdock was blind—he couldn’t possibly be Daredevil, she remembered thinking.  Matt Murdock was a smart mouth New York lawyer; no earthly way he could have ever been Daredevil.  But the more evidence that Kirsten had read and the more she’d researched, the more she’d slowly become a believer in the Matt-Murdock-is-Daredevil theory.

And now as she watched Matt pace around his small law office, the fact that he was undeniably Daredevil in the front of her mind, she saw it in his body.   He moved with the same ease and grace that Daredevil did.  He kept a loose stride but remained in control over his physical movements. He was quiet and contained, but he also sucked out all the air in the room.  Matt was a larger than life person with a larger than life, well…life. Kirsten had always known it, but studying him just then was a bigger reminder of the reason why she’d broken up with him in the first place.

This situation was a lot.

And he’d just thrown a lot more on her.

“Rehearsals?” she repeated, hating how confused and in the dark she sounded. She hated not knowing what everyone else did, and she knew Matt knew that. “What are you talking about? What are you planning, Matt?”

“We’re completely changing how we’re going about this,” Matt replied. Kirsten lifted her eyebrows.

“We,” she deadpanned.

“Yes. We.”

“You mean _you_ , but you’re saying _we_ ,” Kirsten corrected. Matt stopped pacing and paused to consider her statement, his red hair catching the light streams of early morning sunlight beaming in through the window as he tilted his head to the side just a little bit while he thought.

“Ok, yes,” he agreed after a moment’s hesitation. “I mean me, but I’m saying we.  I’m changing how we’re approaching the trial, and we need to rehearse because I need your help.”

Right away, Kirsten shook her head. “No.  Matt, whatever you have planned, it’s a bad idea.  I can already tell.”

He twisted his mouth in a mildly offended glare. “What? How?  It’s not a bad idea.  I mean, yes, you’re going to think it’s a bad idea, but Foggy already approved it, and we’ve got to do it.  I can’t…Kirsten…listen to the plan first, ok?  There’s no talking me out of it.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t try,” Kirsten grumbled.  Heaving a sigh, she took a few more steps into his office and faced him directly, her brown eyes patient but wary. “Ok.  Lay it on me, Counselor.”

“So the Sons of the Serpent are pressuring me into this case. If I don’t take it, they’re going to expose my identity, but if I take it, I’m going against my better judgment, which is something I loathe doing.” Matt put his hands on his hips and started pacing again. He tilted his face down to the ground as if he were looking at the neutral-colored carpet lining his floor. “I can’t knowingly go to court for this guy when I know the kinds of people the Serpents are.  I just can’t.”

“Noted,” Kirsten interjected.  Patiently, she waited for Matt to continue.  She’d worked with him long enough by now to know that he enjoyed listening to himself talk things out, and sometimes he did these long speeches just to get it all out there in the open.  If anything, he did these talks for himself, and she’d learned to sit patiently through them while he talked through everything he needed to before he reached his conclusion.  Seeing this side of Matt Murdock, infamous lawyer, was fun for her because in court, Matt was the most well-spoken, beautifully verbose person she’d ever known. He didn’t say a word unless he wanted it there for a reason.  Not a syllable was wasted, and he could never be accused of using up the people’s time and oxygen by talking too much.  So for Kirsten to get to see him use up all his words and vocalize his thought process out was fascinating because this was the side of Matt Murdock the courts never got to see.

“Right,” he agreed. “So I’m in a bit of a difficult situation because of my identity…they know I’m Matt Murdock.  Well, I talked to Foggy, and I think it’d be best if I beat them to the punch.  If I take away their leverage, they have nothing over me.  If I out myself, then I’m free from them.”

Kirsten paused, realizing what he was implying.

“No,” she said slowly. “You didn’t…Matt—Matt—you’re going to reveal your identity?  No. That’s stupid. This is a stupid plan.”

“Kirsten, it’s the only thing I can do.” Matt turned to face her, his hands still on his hips. “It’s the only way out of this.  They won’t have any leverage if I reveal my identity first. They can’t force me to take the case anymore.”

“But…but your _identity_ ,” Kirsten pressed. She hadn’t known Matt for as long as Foggy had, but she knew that his identity was important to him. Hell, it was so important to him that he’d sued the press for millions when they’d outed him in the first place all those years ago.  If he’d been willing to go that far—to take those kinds of drastic steps, his identity meant more than just _something_ to him.

“I know.  I know.” Matt smoothed a hand over his hair. “Believe me.  I’ve thought through every possible plan I could even _dream_ of coming up with, and this is the best one. I know it sounds like it’s not…but it is.”

“But we go to court.  _Today_.  In an _hour._ How are we going to pull this off with such short notice?” Kirsten frowned.  She remembered back on their first date that Matt had told her he liked going into the courtroom with 90% of a plan.  However, from what he’d just told her, he was going in with about 30% of a plan, and he was dragging her along with him.

“And that, Counselor McDuffie, is exactly why I called you,” he said. Crossing back to his desk, he ran his hands over some sheets he had scattered about.  She watched him until he picked up a handful and smiled before passing them to her. “These are yours.”

Kirsten took them and looked down at them.  Just from a first glance, she could tell that these were questions she was supposed to ask him, meaning that she was going to call him up to the stand in front of God and everyone.  She’d known it the second Matt had said it, but realizing his plan only confirmed her initial opinion that this was a bad idea.  Glancing back up at Matt, her frown only seemed to get bigger. “I’m going to call you up to the stand.”

“Yes.” Matt nodded to confirm her statement. “I have all my answers prepared. I just want you to be prepared for what I’m going to say.”

“Matt…” Kirsten read over the questions again.  When she looked up, he was waiting expectantly for the second part of her statement. “You’re sure about this.  Because once we start…there isn’t any turning back.”

He gave her an impish grin. “That’s the plan, Counselor.”

Kirsten swallowed, knowing that the expanding pit in the middle of her stomach meant that she was going to regret this.  She should say no—she should tell him she wasn’t going to help him. But she didn’t. In fact, she did the opposite. “Ok. Fill me in on everything.”

“We’re going to walk in, and I’m going to do that thing I always do where it looks like I’m lead counsel—“

“So you’re going to swagger in there.”

“Not the words I would use, but yes, I’m going to swagger in. If the Serpents catch any hint of anything fishy, they’ll try to beat me to the punch.  After we get settled, I’m going to announce that we’re skipping opening statements and going straight to the testimony.  Then I’ll announce that you’re taking lead counsel on the case. Following that brief, sudden announcement, you’ll call me up to the stand as the defense’s first witness. And then that’s when I’ll be sworn in, the questions will start, and so forth.”

“And by swear you in, you mean…”

“That’s when I’m going to announce that I’m Daredevil,” Matt finished. Kirsten made a small, amused noise, and he frowned. “What?”

“It’s so Matt Murdock to reveal his identity this dramatically,” she said. “Sorry.  Just musing on it to myself.  Continue.”

“Anyway, I’m sure that’s when the courtroom will go a little crazy, so after things have settled back down, that’s when you’ll come in with the questions,” Matt continued.

“Do you already have your answers thought out?” Kirsten asked, glancing up at him again.

Matt had the decency to look mildly offended. “Of course I do. Well, there’s only one question that I’m planning to just wing when I’m up there, but it’s not a hard one. No need to worry about it. Kirsten, I’m not going in there blind. Well…”

“Alright.” She sighed and smoothed her hair back before placing one hand on her hip as she read over the first question. “But Mr. Murdock, you couldn’t possibly be Daredevil because Daredevil isn’t a blind man.”

“I’m Daredevil, so yes, if you’re getting into the technicalities, Daredevil’s blind,” Matt answered, his voice solid and even the way it always was in court. “This is when I’ll submit my medical records for evidence.”

“Good to know,” Kirsten murmured, her eyes scanning over the page at a mile per minute. “So then you’ll go into detail about your medical history.”

“Correct. I’ll talk about my radar sense, how I trained, all that fun stuff.  I’ll even dumb it down so there’s no confusion,” Matt said. He tilted his head to the side as Kirsten didn’t reply for a few moments. “Your heart’s going crazy.”

“Can you blame me?” she asked drily. “We’re going into court very, _very_ soon, and you’re dropping this on me with no warning whatsoever.”

“Can you blame _me_?” Matt countered, sounding mildly frustrated.  He crossed to his desk and sat on the edge of it while he folded his arms over his chest. “I mean it when I say I’m pressed here.  I’m between a rock and a hard place.”

“I’m not saying that you’re not,” Kirsten protested. “I just…this is a very big step to take, Matt, and you’re sure…you’re so sure…”

“I don’t see any other alternatives.  Kirsten, we’ve been over this.” His voice was gentle as he explained it to her.  Gone was frustrated Matt Murdock the lawyer.  Now he was Matt Murdock, the man Kirsten had gotten to know quite well on a personal level until she’d broken up with him.  Even though he couldn’t see her, he looked at her so sincerely from behind his sunglasses that she couldn’t help the extra thump of her heartbeat.

“If you’re convinced…which you seem to be…I’ll have your back through this, but just know that I think it’s a bad idea,” she replied.

“It probably is,” Matt admitted. “But it’s the best action plan right now.” He waited for her response only to get nothing from her. “Kirsten.”

“Matt.”

“Do you trust me?”

Silence. Matt could hear his own heart pounding, the sound of it mixing with hers as he waited for her answer. And then she spoke. “Yes.”

“So you trust me with this?”

She sighed. “Yes.  I don’t think it’s smart…but I trust you.  And I’ll go through with it.”

Slowly, Matt’s smile lit up his face. “You’re amazing.”

“Don’t forget it.”

“I don’t plan to.”

* * *

 

And that’s how Kirsten found herself in the courtroom with a pounding heart and a slight sheen of sweat starting to line the edge of her hair. There were cameras and people everywhere; there was no escape from the announcement that was about to happen, no matter how much she wished one existed.  Her heart thumped wildly beneath her ribcage, and she knew Matt could hear it by the way he tilted his head towards her, his expression calm and worried all at the same time.

“Like we rehearsed,” he said quietly as he reached for the pitcher of water on their table. “You ready?”

Kirsten thought about how to answer.  No. She wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready at all. She and Matt had rehearsed what they were going to do, how they were going to handle this trial, but she didn’t feel confident.  Honestly, they were unprepared, and she hated being unprepared.

“Kirsten?” Matt turned to face her again.

Kirsten’s mouth was dry, and she tried to swallow, but her heart only picked up even more.  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this nervous.  God, she’d been nervous when she’d gone on that first date with Matt, but she hadn’t been nervous like _this_. Though really, they weren’t even the same type of nervous.  They were two completely different types of nervous.  Was that a thing?  Were there more than—

“Kirsten, I need you,” Matt whispered, interrupting her thoughts. And that’s what did her in. Just those few words Matt said to her, so softly she was almost sure she’d heard them just in her, those four words, and she found the courage.

“Ready,” she finally replied without looking at him.  If she looked at him, she’d lose her nerve. With her consent, Matt proceeded forward. She tried to ignore the pounding of her heart as Matt stood up.  _This is it_ , she told herself.  _This is the point of no return_.

She tasted pennies in her mouth and was surprised to learn that that wasn’t just a weird stereotype books always included.  She’d always wondered if it were true, but as she sat there in that courtroom with a half-assed plan Matt was convinced would work, she tasted anxiety in the taste of pennies.  Grimacing, she tried to block the taste out of her mouth so she could focus on what Matt was saying.

“Your Honor, defense waives its opening remarks and will move directly to testimony,” Matt said, his voice strong and confident. “Ms. McDuffie, effective immediately, you are lead counsel.  Call your first witness.”

“Objection. Your Honor, this is out of order—“ the opposing counsel started to shout, but Kirsten stood up. It was now or never, she thought. She was in it—she’d agreed to be in it, and she’d told Matt that she’d come through for him, so she had to. God, now she didn’t have another choice. She’d come through for him again if he asked her to.  Even if he didn’t she knew she would.

“The defense calls Mr. Matthew Murdock,” she announced, her voice steady and clear.  Her tone mirrored Matt’s own confident tone that he’d just projected out across the courtroom, whether or not she felt it inside.  While the courtroom burst into a frenzied symphony of low murmurs and half-raised voices, she took a moment to breathe.  Silently, she told herself that she could do this, and she pulled herself together, watching Matt make his way up to the witness stand.

While Matt moved easily and smoothly, seemingly unbothered by all the chaos breaking out around him, the judge slammed his gavel down several times to demand silence.

“I’ll allow it,” he grumbled, and Kirsten sent up a silent prayer to whatever it was that may or may not be out there for allowing things to go smoothly thus far.  She knew that there was a long way to go still—God, this trial wasn’t going to end quickly, nor would it end painlessly—but this was a start, and she could live with a start. A start was something.

Quietly, she watched the bailiff take the Bible up to Matt, and she watched Matt lay his hand on it as he swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

 _Last chance to back out, Matt_ , she thought, silently hoping he would but knowing he wouldn’t. Taking a second, she inhaled and then stepped forward as she crossed towards the stand. “Will you state your name for the record?”

“Absolutely,” Matt answered, his face earnest.  He tilted his face towards the sound of her voice, and Kirsten had the distinct feeling that if he weren’t wearing his glasses, he would have been looking directly at her.

 _Come on, Matt. Come on_.

“My name is Daredevil.”


	2. Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutouts to loversandmadmen and whitchry9 for reviewing!!
> 
> It's Monday, so that means it's update day! This chapter's pretty straightforward, so I'll just keep my mouth shut and let y'all get to the main event.
> 
> Chapter song rec: "Stutter" - Marianas Trench =)
> 
> And of course, feedback is always appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy! =)

Chapter 2

Out of all the things in the world Kirsten could have been impressed by, she was most impressed by the nonchalant way Matt reacted to the court flaring up into a roar of unbridled chaos.  Through the noisy flood, he sat still and quiet as could be, patient if anything else. He’d just admitted to the world that he was Daredevil, and he looked as if he’d just ordered a glass of water.

And so there it was.  There was his confession.  He’d said the words, and he couldn’t take them back, but as Kirsten looked at him, as she looked at his solid, determined face and clenched jaw, she didn’t think he’d _want_ to take them back. This idea had been his choice, and he’d have to live with the repercussions of that choice every day until the day he died. And he was ok with it. For now at least. She knew at least that.

 _Matt, what have you done_? She looked up at him on the stand, waiting for him to give any kind of indication that he felt her gaze, but if he did, he didn’t give it away. She hadn’t been nervous inside a courtroom in a very long time, but now she realized that her hands were shaking. Her throat was dry, her heart couldn’t stop thudding, and she wanted nothing more than to drink some of the water in the pitcher on the table.  Yet despite all that, she couldn’t stop now.  By this point, she’d built up a certain momentum, and she couldn’t afford to lose it.

The noise of the courtroom was so loud that her head started to feel like it was buzzing. With a last quick glance towards Matt, she wondered how he was able to keep his cool like this. His heightened senses must have been going out the roof, but he gave no sign of it except for a slight wince near the corner of his eyes that his glasses hid from everyone else.

“ORDER!” Judge Pierce shouted over the din of yelling, gasping people, his face contorted with frustration as he banged his gavel repeatedly. “I said order!  Bailiff!”

Kirsten folded her arms over her chest and swallowed while the noise began to quiet just a little bit.  Pressing her lips together, she took one last breath, and then she proceeded according to plan. Matt had gone through with his part of the plan, and now she had to as well, no matter how nervous she felt about it. “Will you repeat your statement for the record, Mr. Murdock?”

“Certainly,” Matt replied, his voice steady as always. “Under oath and with God and the media as my witness, I’m telling you that I am Daredevil. Always have been, always will be.”

In the background, the crowd started up again, their voices all mixing together as they speculated over whether or not his statement was the truth while Kirsten swallowed again.  Her heart still raced inside her chest, and she felt far too hot to be dressed in a suit jacket when she was this anxious, but she pressed forward.  Turning back to the table, she rooted through the assorted documents for Matt’s medical files. “How is that possible, Mr. Murdock? Daredevil clearly isn’t a blind man.”

“Technically speaking, he _is_ ,” Matt replied. “ _I_ am.  Now that the court has simmered down, might I recommend the defense submit my medical history into evidence.”

“A splendid suggestion.” Kirsten picked up the file and glanced over her shoulder right as she noticed the judge exchanging a glance with Ogilvy, the Serpent who’d put this whole situation into motion in the first place. Quietly, just so only Matt could hear her, she added something else for him. “Who, FYI, just shot Ogilvy a look and a half.”

With Matt’s files in her hand, she crossed towards Judge Pierce and held his eye contact while she passed the information up to him. The judge started to review the paper evidence, and she crossed back to the table while Matt took his cue and launched into his story. Kirsten had heard this story from him before, but she listened again and gave all the appropriately theatrical reactions that she knew would be covering the papers as soon as the trial had let out for the day.  She listened to Matt talk about how he’d once been sighted but had lost his vision due to being hit with radioactive material while pushing an old, blind man out of a careening truck’s path.  She shook her head and widened her eyes in shock and disbelief when Matt detailed his radar sense, and then finally, when he explained his motives behind Daredevil, she nodded her head with sympathy.

Eventually, Matt got to the end of his speech, and Kirsten could tell that he’d captured the audience.  Everyone was listening to him and watching with rapt attention.  It was all she could do to suppress her smile because _of course_ he’d be able to win them over so easily. Honestly, Matt could tell a story about listening to water drip, and he’d have everyone in the palm of his hand wanting more.  His abilities at storytelling were one of the many reasons why he was such a good lawyer, she could freely admit.

“This is a court of law, Counselors, not a circus,” Judge Pierce irritably interjected, thereby breaking the spell Matt had cast over the entire courtroom.

“Apologies, your Honor,” Kirsten said, even though she really didn’t feel all that sorry at all. “Just one more question.  Regarding credibility.” She crossed back to the table and lifted up an old news article. Judging by the way Matt’s head tilted to the side, he knew she’d picked up the newspaper, and she was preparing to ask him the one question he hadn’t bothered to rehearse an answer for. “Mr. Murdock, if everything you’re claiming is accurate, then why did you, for millions of dollars and with _extreme_ aggression, once attempt to sue _The Daily Globe_ for printing a story you’re now saying is absolutely true.”

“I…” Matt faltered.  He lowered his head and brought his hand up to his mouth, thinking. “I…”

“You have one second to answer before I declare a mistrial,” the judge snapped. “Mr. Murdock?  Hello?”

“Why did I sue?” Matt asked after another second’s pause. “Because I was fooling myself.  We all want to live in a world where we can make a difference, Ms. McDuffie.  That’s why Spider-Man fights the good fight. Or Captain Marvel. Or me.  Or…there are a lot of us.  And we don’t all wear masks these days.  Iron Man went public.  So did Captain America. Others.  Probably because it’s harder to keep secrets in an Internet surveillance age.  But I think some of it, too, is that the ethical paradox can wear you down.  No one on the white-hat side has ever hidden his or her identity with less than noble intent: to make the fight about something bigger than us. To represent a greater justice, where the focus can be on right and wrong…and not on whether the bad guys will exact reprisal on those close to us.” He took another pause and twisted his mouth to the side as he tried to find the best possible words. “And sometimes you have to bear false witness.  You have to lie. Sometimes, someone guesses—‘Aren’t you Spider-Man?’ And you look them dead in the eye and say, ‘Absolutely not’ because you can justify a lie if lives are riding on it. Even as you fight for, as the saying goes, truth and justice…even if you’re a lawyer who has sworn to live by the truth…you willingly bear false witness.”

Kirsten’s heart slowly started to beat a little more calmly. Matt was doing ok—he was doing just fine, and he had this.  Taking a quick glance around the courtroom, she felt a tiny swell of pride in her chest as she realized that everyone, again, was fixated on Matt as he spoke.

“When the _Globe_ came after me, I lied to shield my friends,” he continued. “That’s the truth. It’s not the kind of excuse I’m looking forward to giving St. Peter—a sin is a sin—but maybe he’ll understand. I hope so.  But where I took it too far was in counterattacking the _Globe_.  That wasn’t me shielding anyone or dismissing a perceived danger. That wasn’t an act of integrity. That was me fighting to preserve a lie. Keep it alive. Give it power. That’s different. That’s not what we should be doing. My dad taught me better than that. I’m Daredevil. That’s the truth. As is this:” He took another pause and turned his face to the right where Judge Pierce was seated. “Judge Pierce here hired assassins to kill me last night so I wouldn’t be able to defend my client because this man is vying with Ogilvy’s father for control of the Sons of the Serpent!”

If Kirsten thought the courtroom had been in chaos before, she’d been wrong. As soon as the last sentence left Matt’s lips, everything seemed to explode.  People began shouting, feet started rustling, and Judge Pierce banged his gavel louder than ever.

“That’s enough!” he shouted. “This is a mistrial!  Bailiff, take Murdock into custody for contempt!”

“He’s about to be too busy, Judge!” Matt called back, already stripping into his Daredevil costume.

“Bailiff—“

“Clear the courtroom, or find cover!” Matt shouted to everyone. “Everyone! Now!  We’re under attack!”

Kirsten was relatively used to Matt’s senses, but she was surprised to discover that he was right.  Just as he started speaking, bullets began to fly, and that was when she realized she was stuck. Only moments ago, her heart had finally started to slow down, and now it was picking back up from all the added excitement.  Quickly, she scanned the courtroom for the quickest, easiest hiding spot.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to look for long.  In the midst of the chaos, the table she’d been sitting at earlier fell on its side with a loud clang, and she knew that was her cue to dive for cover. She didn’t mind letting Matt handle this one, she realized, putting her hands over her head as a bullet whizzed by. Behind her, she heard sounds of punching and hitting.  She wondered how much hitting Matt was doing versus getting hit, but she didn’t want to chance looking just yet with everything still happening too quickly for her to process.

Suddenly, a man in a green tactical suit appeared out of nowhere, grabbing her and yanking her up. “Come out, or the lady lawyer dies! I mean it!”

Everything seemed to slow down just then, as if she were in a movie, and the slow motion sequence had started.  Kirsten knew she should be afraid.  That was what any normal person would feel.  She was being held at gunpoint by a guy in a strange green suit with some bucket looking thing on his head, and she should feel terrified. But the longer she stood there and the more she came to terms with her situation, the angrier she became. She couldn’t find Matt, but she didn’t need to.  Lifting her foot, she brought her heel down hard on her assailant’s toes.

The hand covering her mouth lifted, and she turned, catching Matt’s voice as she began to dash for the door.

“Go! Run!”

And Kirsten ran.  Even though she was in heels and a skirt, she ran.  She was moving through the seats of the courtroom, her adrenaline pounding louder and harder than her heart, when she heard a violent crash come from behind her.  Turning over her shoulder, she caught the sight of Matt smashing his knee into her attacker’s helmet, effectively knocking him out.  She froze in her spot and watched as the man in the green suit sank down to the floor, and she took in the sight of Matt.

There he was in all his Daredevil glory.  He didn’t look like the Matt Murdock she’d come to know and appreciate, and yet he looked like himself.  She stood stock still in her place, and she watched as Matt caught his breath, his face angled down towards the floor like he was looking at the unconscious man for any sign of life.  Suddenly, as if he were remembering something very important he’d forgotten earlier, he looked up in her direction.

“Kirsten?” he asked urgently.  He lurched towards her. “Are you ok?”

“Y-yeah. Yes.  Yes, I’m very ok,” she answered, her voice somehow coming out sounding normal, if a little winded.  “Are you? A-are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” Matt reached out for her and put his hands on her upper arms. For a moment, the thought crossed Kirsten’s mind that he would kiss her.  It’d almost happened—just a few days ago Matt had almost kissed her, but then they’d been interrupted, and they’d left it like that.  Very easily, she realized, they could fix that. Matt could kiss her, or she could kiss him, and they could pick things up from where they’d left them. She stayed frozen and looked up at him, and as she really studied his face covered by the Daredevil mask, she wondered if she actually wanted him to kiss her.

Did she?  She’d broken up with him because of his life.  It wasn’t that she thought she couldn’t handle the Daredevil life because dammit—she was sure she could. She loved challenges, and she hated backing down from them.  But Matt had a ridiculous life with ridiculous problems, and she didn’t want to be his ridiculous problem-solver that he sometimes kissed when he wasn’t being too busy saving the world.

But despite all of that, she couldn’t deny that she was very attracted to him. How could she _not_ be?  He’d just kind of saved her life in the middle of a trial that she’d been leading him through, and he was touching her as if he needed that kind of physical contact to truly reassure himself she was ok.  How _couldn’t_ she be attracted to him?

So yes.  She wanted him to kiss her, even if she wasn’t sure it was the best decision in the world, but she figured fuck it.  She wanted it, and so did he, and just as she thought he might have been moving in closer to kiss her, a whole herd of people came running down the hall.  Reluctantly, Matt let go of her arms and took a step back. He slid back into the role of Daredevil, the professional vigilante, and all Kirsten could do was watch.

“Daredevil?” a cop called out. “Is everything—“

“They’re unconscious,” Matt replied happily. “All of them.” He reached out and put his hand on the small of Kirsten’s back. “Could someone please see to it that Ms. McDuffie is properly examined by a medical professional? I want to make sure she’s medically cleared.”

“Matt, I’m ok,” Kirsten quickly argued. “I’m a little stirred up by all of this, but I’m ok.  I promised.”

“I’d feel better if you—“

“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t do things just for you then, huh?” she interrupted.  Matt could hear the smirk in her voice, and in spite of himself, he smiled.

“I guess so,” he mumbled.

“Daredevil, could we take a statement from you?” an officer asked. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’d like a detailed report of what happened.”

“Right. Of course.” Matt hesitated, and then he pulled his mask off. “And I’m Matt.  You don’t have to…call me Daredevil or anything.”

“I’ll be outside, ok?” Kirsten started to walk away, but Matt reached out for her.  His hand caught her wrist, but he was careful not to squeeze it too tightly or possessively. Kirsten stopped in her tracks and looked up at him again. “Matt?”

“You’ll wait?” he asked, a mixture of surprise and hopefulness filling his voice.

“Yes.” She hoped he confused the small fluttering in her heart with the force of the adrenaline she had coursing through her blood after the events she’d just lived through. “I’ll wait for you.”

“Good.” Matt nodded once, and then he didn’t say anything else. For a few moments, they stood there in awkward silence as Kirsten waited for him to end with a closing statement and Matt tried to think of something witty to say. “Foggy’d like to see you.”

“I was thinking about dropping by the hospital after the trial was over, anyway.” Kirsten studied Matt’s face for any kind of sign of anything, though she wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for, let alone what she _wanted_ to find there in his features. “We can go whenever you’re done with all of this.”

“I’m sure I’ll get called in tomorrow for an ethics hearing,” Matt said suddenly, his face looking a little less jubilant than before. He went to say something else, but he cut himself off, shrugging and giving her a small smile. “So I’ll see you shortly.”

“Right, Counselor. Shortly."

“Wait.” Matt tightened his grip just the tiniest bit. “Make sure you don’t wait too far outside.  The media’ll be a bunch of hounds.  They’re like sharks.”

“Especially when it comes to you.” Kirsten grinned, thinking back to all the times she’d seen the news reporting on Matt Murdock, the man rumored to be Daredevil. The news stations and news reporters had unashamedly hounded him for years, and there was footage to prove it—that she knew for a fact.  She also knew that Matt didn’t have the fondest feelings towards the media after all the grief they’d caused him in the past, and honestly, she couldn’t say that she blamed him.

“Well…they’re just kind of sharks.  So you might want to wait somewhere close by.  I’ll try to be quick,” he said sincerely.  Carefully, he released her wrist and lowered his hand to his side. “Because Foggy wants to see us.”

“Because Foggy wants to see us,” Kirsten agreed with a nod.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll see you soon.” Kirsten started to turn when a thought came to her, and she smiled. “Hey.”

“Yeah?” Matt turned his head back towards her.

“Thanks for not letting that guy shoot me.”

Matt’s mouth split into a wide grin, and he nodded just once, mimicking the nod she’d given him only seconds ago. “Thanks for saving yourself.”

* * *

 

“Matt Murdock, I have half a mind to _kill_ you.”

“I had no idea Judge Pierce was the one who targeted me. Honestly, I had no idea that the courtroom was going to turn into a battlefield.  I really thought I’d go in, say my piece, and then leave.” Matt crossed breezily into the hospital room that had become like a second home to him over the past few weeks, and he sat down in his usual chair beside Foggy’s bed. “Besides, I made it out alive. So did everyone else.  So did Kirsten.”

“Hi, Foggy,” Kirsten said as she lifted a hand.  Foggy smiled and gave her a small, apologetic nod.

“Hi, Kirsten,” he replied. “I’m sorry Matt dragged you into that.”

“I didn’t mind.” Kirsten shrugged, and Matt’s face split into a wide grin, a grin that Foggy noticed immediately but chose not to point out in that moment. “It was kind of exciting.”

“I nearly tried getting out of this bed to come down to the courtroom and kick your ass,” Foggy grumbled as he returned his attention back to Matt. “I can’t believe you pulled something like that.”

“Fog, no one died.  That’s the important part.  No one was killed, and the Sons of the Serpent are officially over.  They have no more leverage over me, thereby lifting any leverage they had over you and Kirsten,” Matt argued, though he didn’t sound too angry or annoyed. Reluctance passed over Foggy’s tired face, and he shot his best friend an unhappy look.

“So they’re shut down?” he asked. “For good?”

“As far as I’m concerned.” Matt leaned his cane against the chair and sat back even further. “All in a day’s work, Nelson.”

Foggy took a few more seconds to glower at Matt, but then slowly, the man’s face began to lose its anger and take on more of an amused expression. After several more seconds had passed, Foggy started snickering. “That was such a you thing to do, though.”

“What?” Matt asked, his own smiled starting to cross his face.

“That whole trial and the big save at the end.  That’s exactly the kind of thing that’d happen to you. It’s so…it’s so _Matt_.” Foggy folded his arms over his chest and surveyed the two lawyers in front of him. “So what’s your punishment?”

“I have a hearing tomorrow,” Matt answered.

“I don’t,” Kirsten interjected.

“Which is good.” Foggy lifted his eyebrows.  “That’s very good that you’re not getting called in, too.”

Kirsten laughed, feeling more at ease in the room as she leaned back into her chair beside Matt. “After today’s events, I think they have a little bit more on their minds than just my part in the whole performance we put on.”

“That was a damn good performance, by the way,” Matt added happily. “You should have been an actress.”

“Because I’m the only performer in this room?” Kirsten shot Matt a knowing grin, and he smiled even wider as if he could see.  From his spot on the bed, Foggy made an annoyed sound, squinting up his face and rolling his eyes in disgust.

“God, stop,” he groaned. “I’m already sick enough.”

“Bigger issues on our plate.” Kirsten changed the subject and tried to look more professional.  She wished she’d had time to go home and change into something a little more comfortable. After the crazy whirlwind day she’d had, all she wanted to do was change into something that she could breathe in. Now that the adrenaline had worn away, she was exhausted and in love with the idea of sinking down into a hot, relaxing bath.

“Like your hearing,” Foggy said, looking back at Matt.

“Like my hearing,” Matt agreed.

“And what are you going to say?” Foggy squinted his eyes and studied his best friend, but Kirsten knew he already knew the answer just as well as she did.  She knew she didn’t know Matt as well as Foggy did, but she knew they both were familiar enough with Matt to come to the same conclusion: he wouldn’t lie his way out of this one.

“Not an apology,” Matt answered with a disdainful look on his face. “I’m not going to take back what I said, nor am I going to excuse it.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Foggy added respectfully.

“Right.” Matt crossed his legs and was quiet for a few seconds. “I’ll just take whatever punishment they give me.”

“Matt, what if they say you can’t practice law anymore?” Kirsten asked suddenly. Matt’s expression showed her that he’d clearly thought of this scenario already, and he wasn’t fond of the thought.

“Then I’ll accept it,” he said. “That’s all I _can_ do.”

“We’ll figure everything out tomorrow after the outcome,” Foggy said, shooting a glance in Kirsten’s direction that told her they should talk about something else.

“It’ll be fine,” she quickly added. “But for now…what do you say to some celebrating?  You did good, Counselor.”

Matt’s expression lifted the slightest bit, and he shook his head. “I couldn’t have done it without you guys, though. I know that sounds cliché but…”

“Well, Matty, it’s the least we could do.  I supported you from here in my bed, and you and Kirsten kicked ass,” Foggy replied.  Matt’s mouth slide up into a smile again, and he turned his head slightly in Kirsten’s direction.

“I really did kick ass, huh?” she asked, returning both his and Foggy’s smiles. “I could be a superhero myself.”

“You could,” Matt agreed.  What she didn’t know was that Matt already thought of her as a superhero—he just didn’t know how to say it.  What she didn’t know was that Matt truly knew he couldn’t have done what he had today without her. And what she didn’t know, more than anything else, was that when Matt had told her he’d needed her in the courtroom, he’d meant every word.  As she sat there in the hospital room with two friends she’d come to be close with over the past year, possibly for one of the last times for all she knew, she had no idea that Matt was thinking any of these things.

But what Matt didn’t know was that she was thinking the same things about him, too.

 

 

 

 


	3. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutouts to whitchry9 and loversandmadmen for reviewing!
> 
> This chapter is focused more on Foggy and Kirsten's BROTP with just a tiny cameo from Matt on the phone, but I promise the next one will have more Matt and more Matt/Kirsten =)
> 
> Chapter song rec: "Touble" - P!nk just to keep things light!
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy! =)

Chapter 3

“He said he’d call you after the hearing was over?” Kirsten changed the direction she was crossing her legs and shot another hopefully-not-anxious expression towards Foggy.

“Yeah.” Foggy picked up his phone and squinted his eyes at it, twisting his mouth to the side. “He’s been gone for a while.  Jesus, how long does it take?”

“He knows you’re worried.  You’d think he’d call as soon as he was out,” Kirsten replied.  Her body was wired tight with nervous energy, and she passed the book in her right hand over to her left just to give herself something to do. “It’s been…what, an hour?  It doesn’t take that long to get to the courthouse from here.” 

“He knows we’re _both_ worried,” Foggy corrected, shooting her a glance of his own.  Kirsten blinked at him and considered denying his statement, but denying it would only make her seem even guiltier of whatever it was he was trying to imply with his glance, so she just shrugged. 

“Right. We’re both worried.” She re-crossed her legs. “So he should have called by now.”

“You know how he gets.  He’s Matt. He starts brooding and getting all worked up over things.  When he’s upset he locks everything up and doesn’t talk about it until it’s almost past the point of no return.” Foggy sighed and checked his phone again. “That’s his pattern.”

Kirsten shifted her jaw to the side, thinking silently to herself. She thought she knew Matt fairly well. She acknowledged the fact that she didn’t know him as well as Foggy did, nor did she expect to, but she felt she knew him better than most people.  Just from what Foggy had told her, she wasn’t ignorant to the fact that that was how Matt operated.  In fact, Matt’s unwillingness to open up about all the disasters that took place in his life was one of the reasons why Foggy had fired Matt a couple years back when he’d suspected Matt of losing it. 

She hadn’t known Matt during that whole period of his life. She’d listened to Foggy verbalize his worries and concerns about the possibility of Matt turning into who he’d been several years ago.  She’d listened to Foggy talk about the kind of person Matt had once been, and honestly, Kirsten wasn’t sure what to make of this side of the superhero lawyer who she knew to be the total opposite of what Foggy described.  But that was good, she decided.  It was good that Matt wasn’t the obviously self-loathing, self-destructive person Foggy was so reluctant to face again.  It was good.

Just from looking at Foggy’s face, she knew that he was worried Matt would fall into his old habits again as a result of being disbarred. She didn’t know Depressed Matt, but she, too, felt worried over the possibility that Matt would let the potential outcomes of his hearing send him back into old habits.  She watched worry drain several more years out of Foggy’s face, and she pressed her lips together tightly.  As much of a realist as she was, she knew he needed something to hold onto just then.

“He’ll be ok,” she said, even though she had no idea if she were telling the truth or not. “He will be.  He’s Matt. He’s lived through everything.”

Foggy’s mouth quirked up into a half-smile, and he nodded to concede with her. “Well, you’re right about that.  Ninjas…faking a twin brother…”

“I still can’t believe he got away with that,” Kirsten murmured, meriting a sigh from Foggy as he raised his eyebrows and shook his head in disbelief.

“Honestly, I have no idea how he did, either.  It all seems so obvious when I look back at it now…so much of Matt’s life seems obvious, and I just…didn’t know how to look at it at the time. For years, I didn’t know the truth about who he was or his senses or anything like that.  How the hell was it that I roomed with him all throughout college, and I never had an idea?  Not once. I mean, I couldn’t have stopped it because God knows that not even God himself can stop Matty when he’s got his mind set, but…I don’t know.  I’m thinking out loud now.” Foggy shrugged and leaned back into the pillows a little bit more. Kirsten noticed the tired, pale tint of his face, the lines etched into his forehead.  She knew that most of his physical condition was due to the toll the cancer and chemotherapy was taking on his body, but she also knew that she’d seen him look very similar to this in the past whenever it came to dealing with Matt.

Foggy cleaned up Matt’s messes and didn’t ask for anything in return. She knew that much about the two. Matt always leapt into things headfirst without thinking, and Foggy was usually dragged along behind his superhero best friend, often not wanting to be a part of whatever it was Matt was involved with this time.  But no matter how ridiculous Matt’s life got, Foggy was still around. Foggy stayed, despite the number of times he’d tried to fire Matt in the past.  And now as Kirsten looked at him, it dawned on her that after everything Foggy had been through for Matt, it was time for someone to be there for him.

“How have you been?” she asked suddenly.  The question took Foggy off guard, and he blinked a few times before squinting his eyes at her as if he needed to see her more clearly.

“I have cancer,” he said.

“Well, I know that.  But how have you been?” she repeated. “Any complaints about the hospital?  Do they keep it too cold?  Food gross?  Nurses trying to flirt with you nonstop now?”

Foggy snorted and rolled his eyes, but he smiled as he did it. “Oh, you know all my nurses have the hots for me.  I’m obviously the spitting image of sexy male cancer patient.”

“That’s the spirit!” Kirsten exclaimed, laughing.

“The food’s pretty gross, but I don’t complain about it that much because I can’t think of anything I’d rather eat since I don’t have much of an appetite these days.  It’s definitely too cold in here, and no one will give up where the blankets are.  One nurse is constantly sniffling, but I don’t think she has a cold.  I think she might be allergic to me, though,” Foggy said.  He paused to think a little bit. “And that’s about it.  Everyone’s trying to do the best they can.”

Kirsten leaned forward in her chair, and she narrowed her eyes at Foggy. “You’re cold?”

“Uh, yeah.  Why? Are you not freezing?” Foggy frowned at her.

“Do you have any idea where the blankets are kept?  Like, if I were to go out into the hall, do you know if I’d make a left or a right to go to the blankets?”

Foggy’s frown deepened in confusion. “Um, I don’t know.  I think the nurse went right when I asked her for one the first time.  Kirsten, what are you doing?”

Suddenly looking determined, Kirsten stood up in her chair with a plan in mind. “You need coffee. I’m going to get you coffee.”

“Kirsten, I don’t think I’m allowed to have coffee.  Kirsten, what are you—“

“You need coffee if anyone asks where I am, Nelson.  I’ll be back.” She saw Foggy open his mouth to protest, looking very much like the lawyer he was, but she turned and exited the room.  Right, he’d said.  Turn to the right.  Surely it couldn’t be too hard to track down what she was looking for.  In that instant, she wished she had Matt’s senses because maybe they could work some magic for her just then.  She wasn’t even sure if his senses would be able to hone in on where the hospital kept their supply of blankets, but she figured that that was just a minor detail.

As discreetly as possible, she moved her way up and down the hall of the hospital, looking around for any kind of closet or cabinet that would give her a clue.  Her mission was turning out to be more difficult than she’d originally thought, but by this point, she was too determined to turn back now.  These days, Foggy only had her and Matt in his court, and she wanted to earn her place there.  Matt was there by default because, well, he was Matt.  Matt wouldn’t ever turn his back on Foggy, and Foggy knew that. She knew that Foggy trusted her, but she wanted him to know that she was 100% there for Team Foggy.

She ducked into a small hallway off from the main hall, and she wandered down it, slowly letting her brown eyes read the signs on the doors around her. If she got caught down here, she could always use the excuse of being a dumb family member who couldn’t find the bathrooms she told herself.  About halfway down the hall, there was a door marked Clean. Kirsten smiled and stepped forward, gently turning the knob and pushing the door open.

Surprisingly, the door wasn’t locked, and she opened it with ease. And just like that, she found herself in a small supply closet that was stocked with sheets, pillowcases, and blankets.  Unable to help her grin from widening, Kirsten took a second to drink in the feeling of her victory.

“Success, McDuffie,” she murmured under her breath.  Quickly, she reached in and grabbed three folded blankets before stepping back and shutting the door to the closet. Now the challenging part would be to get the blankets back to Foggy’s room without a member of the medical staff noticing her.  She could do that, right? Sure, she could. She’d gotten this far, and she wasn’t about to be stopped now.

She started back for Foggy’s room, her heart beating harder with excitement. As she walked back into the main hall, she kept her face relaxed and professional and her back straight. If she looked like she had a purpose carrying three hospital blankets down the hall, no one would question her. She just had to look like she knew what she was doing.  Kirsten silently told herself that over and over as she made her way back.  Instinct told her to look around and see if anyone seemed to be suspicious of her, but if she looked suspicious, people would find her suspicious, so she just walked.

The doorway to Foggy’s room was straight ahead, and her heart sped up a little bit more at being so close.  She half-expected someone to stop her and ask her where she was going or what she was doing, but to her surprise, no one seemed to notice. She was several footsteps away, several seconds away, several milliseconds away…and then she was through the door.

Foggy took one look at Kirsten, and his face went slack. “What are those?”

“These are blankets.  Three of them,” she said as she crossed towards him. She set the stack on the chair beside the bed and started unfolding the top one. “Where do you like the tag? At the bottom? I like the tag at the bottom so it doesn’t get in my face.

“Did you just steal blankets?” Foggy asked in disbelief.

Kirsten made a face at him. “I prefer to think of it as borrowing. More like a raid. A borrow raid.”

“You raided the hospital blankets?” Foggy looked up at her with shock all over his pale, tired face.

“Yeah. I did.” She smirked. “Don’t look at me like that.  I’m not taking them back, either.  The medical staff would probably have to wash them again, anyway, so you might as well get some good use out of them before someone says you have to give them up.”

“I’m not—I’m not looking at you like anything.”

“Yes, you are.  You’re looking at me like I’m a criminal.”

“No, I’m not!” Foggy didn’t move to protest as she spread the first blanket on top of him, the tag neatly at the bottom near his feet. “I’m just surprised. This is such a…a…”

“A Matt thing to do?” Kirsten asked wryly, unfolding the next blanket. Foggy didn’t answer for a few seconds, and she looked at him to see if he’d heard her, but he was looking directly at her with a new expression on his face.

“No,” he said, his voice quieter. “It’s a very Kirsten thing to do.”

Kirsten paused, and she smiled at him. “Well.  I like the sound of that.”

“I…like that you did this.  God, I'm so desperate for any kind of warmth. I can’t believe I’m condoning your criminal ways.”

“It was a _raid_. I didn’t _steal_.”

“Raiding is still just as illegal, Counselor.” Foggy finally grinned and let her put the second blanket on him. “Thanks, Kirsten.”

“No prob—“ She was cut off by the sound of Foggy’s phone vibrating. Curiously, she looked over at him. “Matt?”

Foggy grabbed the phone. “Yeah.  It’s Matt.” He slid his thumb across the glass screen and put the phone up to his face. “Matty?  How’d it go?” His face fell. “Jesus.  I’m sorry. No—no, don’t you start in about me. I’m going to be ok. Matt, stop.”

Kirsten knew then that the worst had happened.  She studied Foggy’s face and saw his expression change a hundred times over.  She watched fear, sadness, worry, concern, anger, disappointment, and acceptance flicker over his features like candlelight.  When he looked up, his eyes met hers, and he shook his head just once.

“Wish I weren’t stuck here, so I could come over, and we’d go get drunk,” he said, trying to be lighthearted. “It’d be like college…What?...Yeah, she’s here. You want to speak to her? Ok.  Hold on.” He held the phone out and handed it to Kirsten.

She took the phone from him and put it up to her ear. “Hi, Matt.”

“Kirsten. Hi.  I—“

“I know,” Kirsten said softly, interrupting him. “You don’t have to tell me. I picked up on it.”

“Yeah. So.”

“I’m—“

“Don’t say you’re sorry because I don’t think I am,” he said, this time interrupting her.  Kirsten heard a smile in his voice, and she found herself smiling just the tiniest bit back into the phone.

“Ok. I won’t say I’m sorry then. At least not right now.”

“At least not right now.”

“Where are you?  What are you doing now?”

“I’m going to head back to my apartment.  I think I need to get up high and clear my head.  See if there’s anyone who needs to be punched.”

Kirsten smiled even more as she thought about Matt in his Daredevil costume, remembering how he’d changed so suddenly in the courtroom the day before. “Sure that’s a healthy way to deal with your emotions?”

“Please. I’m the epitome of healthy. If you look up healthy in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of me right there.”

“You sound awful happy for someone who just lost his job,” she pointed out.

“It’s either try to make jokes about it or mope in my apartment about it. Besides, I’m sure I’ll be able to find something going on.  There are always jerks in this city who need to be reminded of the law.”

“The red hand of justice,” Kirsten quipped.

“Exactly.” Matt was silent, and all Kirsten could hear was his breathing on the other line. Even though he was trying to be happy, she could tell that he was still sad over being disbarred. God, he wasn’t allowed to practice law anymore.  After everything he’d done for that city, he’d been disbarred.  Kirsten understood why, just as she knew both Foggy and Matt understood the reasons behind it, but she still knew that no matter how happy Matt pretended he was, he was still saddened by today’s results.

“I’ll let you go then,” she said finally. “Are you at your apartment now?”

“Walking back.  Didn’t feel like taking a cab.”

“Aren’t people going to recognize you?”

“I’m wearing a baseball cap.”

Kirsten covered her mouth as she pictured Matt Murdock wearing a baseball cap, and she grinned. “Perfect disguise, Counselor.”

“Right?”

“But I really will let you go now.  I won’t say the thing you told me not to say, but I _will_ say to be careful and don’t beat up any innocents.”

“I would never.  I’ll see you around, Kirsten.”

“See you, Matt.” Kirsten quickly pulled the phone away and hung up before he could.  She wiped the phone against the fabric of her slacks before handing it back to Foggy. “He’s going to go be a superhero for a while.”

“He’s going to fight crime after getting news like that?” Foggy asked, frowning.

“Yeah. He sounded ok. I mean…not really. But he sounded ok.”

“I know what you mean.” Foggy stared at the phone as if he could scold Matt directly through it.  Quietly, he sighed and set it on his nightstand. “Tell him I’m serious not to worry about me when you see him later, ok?”

Kirsten opened her mouth to agree, but she caught Foggy’s wording, and she stopped. “What do you mean ‘when I see him later’?”

“You heard me.” Foggy managed to work up a smirk in her direction as he leaned back into his pillows again, pulling his new pile of blankets over him to cover him better.

“Who said anything about going to see him?” She tilted her head to the side and mimicked his smirk.

“I know Matty, and I’m starting to know you,” he replied innocently.

“Foggy, I literally have _no_ idea what that means.”

“It means that you going to see him later is a very Kirsten thing to do.” His gaze turned challenging, and Kirsten knew that he knew exactly what he was saying and doing in that moment.  She pressed her lips together and tried to look defiant, even though she knew she was horribly failing.

“Well. I _was_ thinking about dropping by later.”

“Check the roof.  He likes to brood on the roof whenever he’s…broody.”

“Noted. In the meantime, I’m going to get us some lunch.  Would you like anything that’s not cafeteria food?” she asked, moving to grab her purse and book from the chair she’d sat in earlier.  Foggy made a face and shook his head.

“I don’t think I could eat anything right now even if I wanted to,” he answered mournfully. “My God, how times have changed.”

Kirsten laughed at his expression, shaking her head. “At least it means you’re not eating junk food.”

“Ok, now _that_ was a Matt thing to say.” Foggy shot her a disdainful glance as she walked to the door.

“Ha ha.  Funny. I’m going to grab lunch and run a few errands, but I’ll be back later, ok?  I have a book I think you’ll like reading in your downtime here.”

“Thrilling.”

“You’re welcome, Nelson.” She shot him one last grin as she started to exit.

“Hey, Kirsten.”

At Foggy’s voice, she stopped and looked back in. “Yeah?”

“I mean it.  Thanks for…the blankets. And for sitting with me. And for just being an all over pretty awesome person,” Foggy said, his smile genuine and slightly bashful as he looked over at her. “So.  Thanks.”

“Of course,” Kirsten replied, returning his smile. “That’s what friends are for.  Or friends-who-coerce-acquaintances-into-working-with-their-ex-boyfriends.”

“You know me too well.”

“Starting to.” She smiled at him one last time, nodding towards his blankets. “Stay warm, Nelson.”

“You have my word, McDuffie.”

And as she walked away, she couldn’t help thinking about Matt. His life was turned upside down now. He couldn’t be a lawyer when that was what he _did_.  Practicing law was what he’d always done, and damn if he wasn’t good at it.  There didn’t seem to be an easy solution to the current dismal predicament he’d managed to get himself into, but Kirsten decided that that was her new job.  She’d lost her spot at Nelson  & Murdock with Matt’s and Foggy’s disbarment, but much to her surprise, she didn’t feel all that torn up over it. She _couldn’t._

Kirsten McDuffie had a new plan in mind.


End file.
